


A Little Fishing Mishap

by cjmoliere, GoldsJRZGirl



Series: Mishap series [9]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Family, Father's Day, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 21:13:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4153155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjmoliere/pseuds/cjmoliere, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldsJRZGirl/pseuds/GoldsJRZGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumple, Bae, Henry, & little Killian go on a Father's Day fishing trip and end up having the worst mishaps befall them! Full of pranks, laughs, and father-son fun. Then Rumple comes home and gets the best surprise gift of all from Belle! Mishap verse! Rumbelle, Swanfire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Fishing Mishap

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the story A Little Preschool Mishap, Mishap verse

Even as a child in the Enchanted Forest Bae always had a difficult time trying to decide what gift to give his father on his special day. Father's Day was celebrated in their world as was Mother's Day and the tradition had been in place for as long as anyone could remember. Since they had only each other and very little money, Bae learned early that his father appreciated gifts from the heart more than ones from the market.

For Rumple, every day with his son was a gift and he always tried to set aside some time for the two of them to do more than work, not easy to do when Rumple's spinning and weaving was their main source of income and required him to work long hours. Still, they managed. ..long walks in the woods when Rumple's leg could handle the terrain and their favorite pastime, fishing on the lake.

Once the demon invaded Rumple's soul those happy days were few and far between and Bae hadn't asked Henry to fish before, thinking his eldest son wouldn't enjoy it as he did, forgetting that Henry was more like him then he was willing to admit.

Henry had been watching some fishing programs on the sports channels and as Father's Day approached, he asked Bae, "Hey Dad, why don't we go on a fishing trip for Father's Day? We can go out in the bay, by the cove and catch some big bluefish or something. We can have Grandpa come too. He said he used to fish a lot back in your old realm. And Mom and Grandma can pack us a picnic."

"He certainly did...I just caught the best ones..." Bae said with a grin. "Just don't tell him I said so."

"I won't," his son laughed. "And Killian will love it too. But we'll have to rent a boat."

Killian, catching the tail end of the conversation jumped up and down excitedly. "Where we going on a boat?"

"I want to take Dad and Grandpa fishing for Father's Day," Henry told him. "Whaddya think, bro?"

"Cool! Too bad I don't have the ole Jolly Roger cause I useta fish outta it all the time."

"We can make do with a fishing trawler, buddy," Bae remarked. "Grumpy has one we can borrow. Her name's Polaris."

Killian scowled. "Yeah but it could do with a paint job and some fixin up. And I told him so too."

Emma shook her head. "Well don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Killian, if he's kind enough to let you borrow it."

Henry laughed, picturing Grumpy's face.

"Maybe we could do that for him another time, as a thank you for letting us use it," Bae suggested. He wanted his sons to grow up realizing that you had to give as well as take, something Rumple had taught him well.

"Been thinkin bout it. You think Granpa would gimme a loan?"

"That depends. If he thinks you're gonna work hard and not waste his money, he will. But that's something you gotta work out with him when you get bigger," Bae said.

"Well I'm not gonna sail around lookin for booty all day...the gold or the female kind."

In her high chair, Aria giggled and banged a spoon. "Papa!" she squealed, hearing the word grandpa. It was what she often called Rumple, because Bae did.

"Our little drummer girl," Emma quipped.

Aria, much to her parents chagrin seemed to enjoy banging any objects she could find together to see what kind of sounds they made.

She also loved to sit and listen to whatever music her family members played, trying to sing along as best she could while she was still trying to learn to talk.

The little girl had heartbreaking blue eyes like her mother and light golden brown hair and a sweet cherubic face that could get her out of trouble most times with her parents and grandparents.

Her two brothers were fiercely protective of her, especially when they went to visit Rumple and the Blue Menace lurked next door. Melanie had been keeping a tight reign on Sapphira since she'd taken Geppetto's parents and buried them but luckily Killian and his new Nevenger crew found them in time.

Aria held out her arms to Bae and cried, "Me too, Da!"

Bae came and picked her up, saying, "Hey chicklet, you're too little to go out on a boat, but you, me, and Mommy will have a cookout in the backyard, okay?"

She gave him the Look his father often made while making a deal.

"Dad, you gotta make sure you do or she's gonna get really mad," Killian reminded him.

"I know, I know. Otherwise we'll have a Royal Meltdown, right, princess?"

And an angry Aria was not one to be trifled with when his father warned him her voice would become a powerful weapon when she was older.

Like her grandfather, she held people to their end of their bargains, and if they didn't fulfill what they had promised . . .

Rumple sensed she had a bit of the legendary sirens in her only she was a more benign form of one..

She also had a measure of the Bardic Gift, of which True Speaking was a part. In the old days a bard was renowned not only for his or her ability to play music and spin stories but for uttering truth with every word. No one lied to a bard ever. And all trusted her not to speak an untruth, though she could exaggerate when telling stories.

They were often advisors to kings and queens and keepers of history, legends, and lore.

A child with such gifts was sought after by all who walked in the darkness and light.

A bard had the right to receive hospitality in any house, even royal ones, and to harm a bard was to bring the wrath of the gods down upon you.

And one with those gifts hadn't been seen in their land in hundreds of years-since Zoso had done his best to exterminate them.

It was another reason why Bae was reluctant to take his daughter anywhere near the ocean...dark sirens often lurked beneath the depths seeking out one of their own to capture and control.

And one had come over from their world to this one-Morgana the Sea Witch, and he knew she would love to get her hands on a young mage of Aria's bloodline and talent.

"So, we'll have a barbecue and invite your parents, Em," Bae said. "Maybe we'll do that after the fishing trip, on Monday."

"That works for me only you're doing the grilling. I don't want to catch it on fire again like the last time with those hamburgers we bought."

Killian made a face. "That's cause you bought those el-cheapos 'stead of makin em yourself."

"Yeah, Mom, we don't want the fire department here again," Henry joked. "I had to listen to roasted weenie fire jokes for months after that at school!"

"Your dad decided to tell me at the last minute he wanted to cook out so I just thought I'd buy some!"

"So now you can just buy the Angus ground beef and I'll make 'em. And we won't worry about it." Bae soothed. He tweaked his daughter's nose. "Right, bugaboo? And then we won't worry about you screaming the house down."

"And for your information they weren't el-cheapos...they were the Steakum kind and I did cover the grill but the crap had so much grease it leaked through."

"Hey, it happens. But this time it won't. And we'll have Thumanns hot dogs too and maybe some spicy sausage patties?" He knew that David loved those.

"My father will be drooling all the way here."

"Yup, well, that's the idea," Bae laughed.

"You and both Grammy and Grandma oughta make a list and go shopping while we're fishing, Mom," Henry said helpfully. "That way you're all prepared."

"And can we make S'mores?" Killian begged.

"Mores! Mores!" Aria screeched, for she loved them also.

Bae winced. "Sweetie, you wanna make daddy deaf before he's thirty?"

"All right but I'm gonna have to do all the carrying since your grandma's about ready to pop!"

"Yeah, whatever you do, Em, make sure Belle doesn't have the baby in the supermarket. Papa will croak!" her husband joked.

Belle was due any day now and Rumple was spending most of his time at home with her, using a great deal of his magic to make certain she and the baby were well protected.

In a way, this fishing expedition would be a great thing to get Rumple's mind off his incessant worrying about the upcoming birth. Bae thought he must have bought out half of the pregnancy and childbirth section at Barnes & Noble online.

He wished he had been at home when Bae was born, though he knew it wouldn't have changed Milah's attitude towards either of them.

But he was determined to be right there for this second child and for Belle. They didn't know what the baby would be, since they had opted to be surprised, which was what would have happened in their old realm.

"Bae don't even joke about that. Yeah, I know how to have my own kids but I'd be scared spitless if I had to deliver someone else's."

"Okay, okay." Her husband held up a hand. "I'm sure everything will be fine. After all, it's just a few hour fishing trip. We'll be back before you know it. Hopefully with lots of fish! Right, guys?"

"Yeah cause I'm the master fisherman!" Henry bragged.

"Are not! I've caught more fish than you!" Killian cried.

Before Henry could respond, Aria yodeled, "No, meee!"

"Aww, you don't even know what a fish is!" Killian snorted.

Aria pointed to a stuffed fish hanging on her bouncy chair. "Ish!"

"That's not a real fish. You wait, I'll bring ya the biggest fish you ever saw!"

"We'll see, kid," Emma grinned. "But you'd better clean 'em before then because I'm no Martha Stewart."

"Aww I can do that Mom. But I gotta do it outside cause it's real messy...lotsa guts."

"Gross!" Emma groaned.

Aria wrinkled her nose, copying her. "Eeeww!"

"You can't eat em yet anyway Tater Head. "

"Eat, Killy!" Aria yelled, and she bonked Bae in the head with her small spoon.

"Oww! Gimme that!" her father cried. "You're gonna give me Alzheimer's." He took the spoon from her.

Killian made growling noises and stalked toward her, his fingers shaped into claws. "M'gonna eat you all up Missus Tater Head..."

Aria giggled and hid her face in Bae's shoulder. "Da, Killy no eat mee!"

"Heeere's Killy..."

"I'll save you, Princess Aria!" Henry cried and swooped down on his brother. "It's Mighty Henry, come to save the day!"

"Save this, zombie!" Killian grabbed some of Aria's breakfast and lobbed it at his brother.

Henry covered his face with his hands. "Oh noo! I'm melting!" he imitated the Wicked Witch of the West.

"Ha, ha got you good!"

Henry threw some back at him.

"Okay guys, get yourselves cleaned up while I talk to Grandpa."

The Golds were at the library for the day. Belle was having storytime with some of the preschoolers while her husband covered the circulation desk. Belle's assistant had been in a car accident a week earlier and would be off work for several weeks. Rumple closed up the shop to help out and left word that if anyone needed to see him, they had to do so at the library.

Shelving books was a bit difficult for the sorcerer due to his leg but the ones he couldn't shelve on his own he did so with small enchantments that did not tax his energy as much as the protections he'd woven on his wife and child did.

His primary concerns were Morgana, the Sea Witch and the Pied Piper, two more of the darkest mages in their world. Morgana was already in Storybrooke but he did not know where the notorious piper was...or who it was.

The Pied Piper was rumored to have the ability to change forms, even take the form of someone trusted to lure victims in.

The wards he placed on Belle would prevent either of them from harming her or the child but those two mages were clever and could find a way to breach his wards if they dug deep enough.

He might be now the most powerful force the Light had, but even he with all the power he wielded was not infallible. No mage was-light or dark. Indeed that was the very mistake Blue had made as a guardian fairy-assuming in her arrogance that none of the dark could best her. But Rumple knew better.

Blue was subdued but only until they day the darkness she gave life to came to claim her for its own.

The master mage felt the darkness inherent in the dagger looming and waiting its chance. It was patient-something all the primal forces of the universe were. They had nothing but time to kill.

And the Balance must be maintained.

And once they struck, it was without fear or mercy...and always at those you loved the most first.

For there was no greater strength or weakness to a soldier of the light than love.

For love Rumple had become the dark's champion. And love had saved him and brought him out of darkness.

He had been both savior and destroyer.

As were all the most powerful magic practitioners. Even the best and the brightest bastion of good could be tempted into darkness and fall prey to the seductive whispers of the shadow. All had the potential for great destruction as well as great good.

"...Penny for your thoughts, Papa?"

Rumple jerked his head up from where he had been peering at a book called Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. "Bae! What brings you here?"

"I've been thinking about Father's Day...and I was wondering if you wanted to go fishing with me and the boys...like we used to?"

A slow smile crept across the sorcerer's expressive face. "That would be grand, Bae! I would love to, but . . ." his eyes shot over to where Belle was sitting on a chair reading about The Day the Crayons Quit. " . . .what about your mama? She's almost ready to deliver."

"We'd only be gone a few hours..."

Rumple looked torn. He had been meaning to spend some time with his son and grandsons but somehow everything had piled up and time had slipped from him unnoticed. "Well . . .let me ask Belle if she thinks it's okay."

Bae was as torn as his father and felt guilty for putting him in such a difficult position but he also wanted them to have some much needed bonding time as well.

They waited for storytime to finish and when Belle made her way slowly back to the circulation desk, smiling when she caught sight of her son, Rumple said, "Belle, Bae wants to take me fishing for Father's Day. Will you be okay with me being gone for a few hours?"

"Of course I would. You three haven't had much time together lately and you should."

She patted her belly affectionately. "We'll be waiting when you get back, won't we my precious?"

"Mama, you imitating Gollum now?" Bae teased.

"Baelfire!" Rumple reproved. "You want a swat? Cause you're not too old t' get one from me, laddie." He warned, shaking a finger at his mischievous son, who was smirking at his own wit.

Bae's eyes twinkled. "Papa, chill! You're wound tighter than thread on a bobbin. This is why you need to go out with me-so you can unwind."

"Thank you! He's been driving me crazy at times with it," Belle admitted.

Rumple looked chagrined. "I'm sorry, it's just . . .I feel like I'm gonna fly to pieces any minute thinking about it. Maybe you're right. I do need to get away for a bit and relax."

He knew this feeling of anxiety was normal with first time expectant fathers and even though this wasn't technically his first time, at the same time because of circumstances it was.

"You just be careful out there."

"Now don't worry, dearie. I've been fishing before, and so have all the boys-even Killian before he was deaged," Rumple patted her hand. "We'll be fine. Bae knows how to drive the boat. Right, Bae?"

"Yeah and you can go shopping with Emma, Mama. I made a deal with my little chicklet that we have to have a barbeque on Monday."

Rumple chuckled. "And you know better than to break deals with MY granddaughter, don't you, son?"

"Oh yes...why did she have to inherit that from you? I'll never be able to get away with anything...just like I didn't with you."

Rumple smirked. "Such are the mysteries of life, dearie. But that can be both blessing and curse. Because you can't lie to yourself."

"Yeah I know."

His mind then jumped ahead to the logistics of the trip. "Do we have all the gear you need? Bait, extra line, tackle and so on? What about life vests? And what are we bringing to eat? I'm assuming we'll have lunch on the boat, right?"

"I have all the gear but I have no idea what to bring for lunch. It's not like what we used to take."

"Why don't Emma and I pack you one?" Belle suggested.

"That would be wonderful, dearie."

"You're going to be out in the sun...so we need to pack you something that will keep in the weather and you'll need to have plenty of drinks."

"Yes, and we better bring sunscreen too. I don't want to become a lobster."

'Yes you do..and the aloe in case one of you forgets that it doesn't last all day...Rumple!"

She was referring to an incident a while ago when he'd forgotten to reapply the lotion when they were at an outdoor craft fair.

Normally he tanned in the sun, but for some odd reason the fates decided to have a bit of fun with him and give him the worst case of sunburn in ages.

Her husband winced exaggeratedly. "Must you rub it in, dearie? I'll remember." It seemed silly, that the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms could get sunburn, but maybe it had been the gods' idea of a joke. Or a reminder that no one was infallible.

"I'll remind him, Mama." Bae assured her. "I know about that from the last time I went to the beach with the kids and Emma almost skinned me and hung me out to dry because I forgot to put the sunscreen on Aria after I brought her in the water a few times."

He would never make THAT mistake again.

He hadn't known even the waterproof kind of sunscreen didn't last for hours, specially with a water hog like Aria playing in the ocean all day.

He had never been prone to sunburn, always tanning to a toasty golden color.

"You both make me mad. You can tan..I burn!" Belle complained.

Belle's skin was extremely sensitive and her sun exposure had to be severely limited.

"Tis that peaches n' cream complexion of yours, dearie." Rumple said. "I suppose we all have our drawbacks. Emma has to watch too."

She sighed. "Hopefully this little one will be able to enjoy the sun more than mama."

"If the baby inherits my skin pigment it will," Rumple soothed. "We can hope."

"Killian tans like butter on a hot skillet," Bae laughed. "Sometimes I wonder if there isn't some island native in him."

"There could be...he was born to pirates," Belle reminded him.

"True." Bae nodded. "Okay, so . . .you'll meet me at the docks with lunch, Papa. And I'll be fitting out the Polaris with the boys. Hopefully my little buccaneer behaves while I do that and doesn't go all nuts on me. I swear that kid's gonna drive me to drink!"

Rumple giggled. "Oh, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it, dearie? And you wonder how I got this?" He touched his temple where his hair had silvered.

"And we'll pack you the best lunch in town!" Belle promised.

"I have no doubt of that," Rumple said, licking his lips. "And are you gonna put in a surprise dessert?" This was something Belle usually did when she made him lunch for work.

"Of course!"

"And this is why I love my wife," he crooned, and he kissed her gently.

"I do my best..."

Bae smiled knowing that it had taken the true love of a woman like Belle to erase his papa's insecurity and feeling that he was unworthy of love-a feeling that had been put there by both his cruel papa,, Malcolm, and by his own mother Milah. But going through a second childhood filled with love, laughter, and mishaps, as well as breaking his curse had sent Rumple's self-esteem soaring. Though Belle was careful to always give him an extra boost of loving tenderness when necessary.

Belle had several ideas in mind but she would have to see which one would be suited for the trip.

"Okay, I'll leave you two to get ready and I'm gonna go talk to Leroy," Bae said. He didn't think there would be any problem borrowing the craft, but he wanted to make sure the dwarf hadn't forgotten about agreeing to lend it to them.

Bae found the dwarf quite agreeable and the weather for the trip was going to be fair and sunny. Plenty of sunscreen was a must.

He and Nova had spent most of the morning getting the boat cleaned up for its crew and checking to make certain all the equipment was working

Bae brought the boys over in his Escape and began putting all the equipment on board. As he feared, Killian was a bundle of flashfire energy and ran fearlessly all over the boat, trying to "help", forgetting he was no longer the captain of a ship, but a mere toddler now.

"Whoa...who slow down there little fellow before you wash overboard!" Leroy called out.

"M'fine!" the child called out, undaunted, as he scurried up into the ratlines of the sailboat. It had twin engines too, but was also crafted to sail with just the wind.

Bae looked up from where he was stowing a bucket of extra bait and almost fell overboard himself when he saw what his son was doing. "Killian Gold! You get your butt down here right now, young man!"

"Dad...I useta do this all the time so I could get a good look at the other ships before I boarded em!"

Bae facepalmed himself. God give me patience. "I don't care what you used to do! Come down, you could break your neck!"

Henry watched avidly. There was nothing so amusing as watching his toddler brother try to outargue his dad.

"Ooookay," he sighed and slowly made his way back down.

Bae put his hands on his hips and growled, "Boy, you ever scare me like that again and I'll tan your butt good!"

"M'sorry." He bowed his head shamefully knowing Bae would carry out his threat even if he didn't want to do it.

A second later he heard, "Now doesn't that sound familiar?" from Rumple, who was dressed in a casual white T-shirt and a plaid button down over it with stonewashed dungarees and sneakers.

He carried a red and white Igloo cooler in one hand.

Killian ran over to his grandfather and hugged his knees, nearly knocking him down.

"Hey, scamp! Been givin' your papa gray hairs again, eh?" Rumple hugged the lad.

"Yep...he got mad cause I wanted to climb the lines and get a look at the ocean..."

The sorcerer chuckled. "My, that sounds like what a certain little boy told me when he climbed up a big old oak tree behind our cottage. That he wanted to see the duke's castle. Hmm, Bae?"

"Oh really?" Henry inquired of his father.

Both boys turned to their father, smirking.

Bae coughed. "Papa, why do you have to remember these things?" he muttered.

"To remind you where this little mischief streak your sons have comes from, dearie. Because it's kind of hard to forget the way your heart almost jumped out of your throat seeing your five-year-old fifteen feet above the ground yelling, "Papa, I can see the whole WORLD from up here!" Rumple replied.

"Dad, I bet you got your butt smacked good for that one!" Henry exclaimed.

"Umm . . .yeah," his father admitted ruefully. "But it wasn't just 'cause I climbed the tree. It was 'cause I sassed your grandpa and wouldn't come down when he told me."

"Didja say bad words?' Killian inquired curiously.

"No, but . . .I told him I'd come down when I had enough looking and I wasn't gonna fall out of that tree because-"

"-I can climb like a squirrel and you're nothin' but an old worrywort," Rumple finished. Then he added, "And all I could think about was how Maisy Leafgood's boy had fallen out of an apple tree last week and gotten a broken arm and a concussion."

"Dad, you're lucky you didn't bust your brains and become zombie food!" Killian exclaimed.

"You could've done that too Killian," Henry pointed out.

"Well, I didn't think like that at the time. But I sure did later once Papa got hold of me," his father said with a grimace. For all Rumple had hated doling out corporal punishment, his hand stung like the dickens when applied to a naughty boy's backside.

"You'd not have gotten more than a swat and time out if you hadn't let your mouth run off," Rumple said.

"And I gotta 'member I'm not a pirate anymore," Killian confessed. "Sometimes it just slips back in y'know. Is there ever gonna be a time when it doesn't, Grandpa?"

"Well . . .eventually most of those memories will fade, lad. Except every once in awhile . . .you'll get the feeling you've done or seen something before. Like deja vu."

"Like when I remembered how that ho genie looked like the ho that was dad's womb donor?" The toddler cringed. "An I did the NASTY with it! Gross!"

Rumple sighed. "Yes, like that. And if you don't want to remember Milah any more, dearie, I can erase her from your mind."

"Please...I think she had crabs..."

Bae groaned. "Oh my GOD!"

Rumple laid a hand on the boy's forehead. "Dearie, I wouldn't doubt it. Now relax, lad. This won't hurt . . ." he darted into the other's mind, his pendant glowing softly, and removed all the memories the child still harbored of his first wife, as quickly and painlessly as drawing two breaths.

"Thanks, Grandpa."

"Will I be able to do things like that, Grandpa?" Henry asked

"You're welcome, Killian," he announced cheerily, ignoring the sudden weariness that drifted over him. So much of his energy was tied up with the wards surrounding his wife and unborn child, that using magic of any kind right then was draining. But the price had been worth it. No child should have memories of his faithless whore of a wife. "Not for awhile yet, dearie. Mind magic like that is very subtle . . .do it wrong and you'll end up making the person a vegetable at worst, an amnesiac at best."

"Can we go fishing now before everybody else gets all the good ones?" Killian demanded.

"Okay, scamp! Let me stow this under the seat," Rumple started to put the cooler beneath the two rear facing seats, where it would lock into place.

"What did you bring?"

"Your grandma and mama packed us a surprise lunch," Rumple demurred. "We'll know what's in there at lunchtime. So no peeking! Or else no dessert!" he warned.

He unhooked a soft cooler with bottled water from his other shoulder. "But this has water in it . . .so we can drink while we fish."

'Aww crap!"

"Hey! Mind the mouth, kid!" Bae scolded. "Okay, everyone put on a life vest and sit down, cause I'm gonna start her up."

He grabbed a yellow vest from under the front seat and put it on while going aft to start the engines.

"Henry...can you help me with this?" Killian begged his brother.

"Yeah, c'mere," Henry knelt and helped the child put on the life vest, making sure the straps were tight but didn't make him feel like he was suffocating.

Meanwhile, Bae started the boat, cast off the lines, and then jumped back on board. "Everyone ready?"

"I'm ready, Dad!" Henry announced.

"Aye aye, cap'n!" Killian gave Bae a smart salute.

"I think we're good to go, Bae," Rumple said, seating himself in a chair, making sure his cane was under the seat.

"Then let the first annual Gold Father's Day Fishing trip begin!" Bae called, after making sure all his passengers were seated, he thrust the throttle forward and the boat leaped joyfully off the dock and into the bay.

Bae navigated skillfully past other craft and out into the bay, thinking piloting this boat wasn't so different from the Jolly Roger, and his old skill soon came back to him.

"You didn't forget," Killian spoke up from his seat.

"No, because I had a good teacher," the older man acknowleged. He corrected his course slightly, thinking how much easier it was to do so on this modern boat with all its navigational equipment and GPS. "We're gonna take her a few miles off shore of the cove and weigh anchor. Then see how the fish are biting."

The boat purred beneath him like a benevolent cat, and soon he had passed all the other ships and was out in clear water. The waves rocked the boat gently and he took her further out, into a small cove where the waves weren't as rough and a breeze sprang up. He decided to see if he remembered how to tack, and cut the motor and opened up the sails.

"Don't forget to tack, Bae," Killian reminded him. "You wanna make sure you turn the bow to the right side."

"I know," the older man replied, making minute adjustments with the instrument panel, and allowing the sails to billow and catch the wind. The boat glided along. "There you go, baby," he talked to the ship.

Killian nodded in approval.

"An don't forget you gotta have enough sail ."

Henry chuckled from his seat.

Bae pressed another button, which allowed a second topsail to open. You can take the captain away from his ship, but you can't take the captain outta the boy, he thought chuckling.

Killian snorted. "You got all these fancy buttons. WE hadta do it the hard way an I got the calluses to prove it."

"Just be happy the boat works, lad," Rumple reminded him. "An' I had a rowboat, dearie!"

"I hadta use em a lot too."

"I bet that sucked," Henry remarked.

"It was when me an' Liam wanted to get away from Pa when he was on a binge."

Rumple winced, for that brought up memories of his own piss poor father and childhood. "Ye can never outrun yer past," he muttered.

"Nope. But Dad's a lot better than Pa."

Henry nodded. He knew he was lucky to have such a good father compared to the ones his grandpa and little brother had had.

Killian grabbed his pole, eager for his first catch of the day. He'd fished both by the shore and on boats but he preferred being on a boat more.

Bae brought the boat to a stop and tossed over the anchor. "Okay. Now let's get fishing, boys."

Killian walked around the deck until he was certain he'd found a good spot and cast his line into the water, enjoying feeling the warm sun on his face and a light breeze tousling his hair. It had been so long since he'd last seen the ocean and missed it terribly.

He also missed his brother Liam who used to take him fishing when they were children as one of the many refuges they sought when their father was at his worst.

Bae cast his own line, sinking it far out into the water off the opposite side of the boat, thinking how the cloudless blue sky and the sun beating down reminded him of the lazy summer days when Rumple and he would go fish in the freshwater lake a mile or so from the village, early in the morning so the fish were undisturbed by loud boys jumping into the water to swim and play.

Rumple was recalling those days also as he cast his own line off the stern, watching it plop into the water, then hooking it up on the metal ring designed for it, so he didn't have to hold the pole and balance on the slightly rocking boat. Back then he had brought a simple meal of bread, cheese and fruit and spring water or cider and had simply sat in the rowboat waiting for a fish to nibble his sapling pole with thread and a homemade fly hook.

This was one of the best days of his young life was how Henry was thinking, sitting on the boat with his little brother at his side and his father and grandfather in seats not too far away...three generations of Gold men, catching up on so much lost time from circumstances that most of the time were beyond their control. Henry hoped that one day there would be four when he brought his own son out on the lake with them.

He didn't know why, but he felt very strongly that the unborn child his grammy was carrying was a girl-a sister for his dad and an aunt for Aria to play with.

He smirked as he thought of how utterly overprotective his grandpa was likely to be with a daughter-worse than he was with Aria.

Killian felt a tug on his line. "HEYYY I GOT ONE!"

"What? You did? No way!" his older brother exclaimed in dismay.

"Uh-huh...but it's tryin' to get away. Awwww no ya don't you little jerk...I'm gonna get ya." He started pulling his line up and reeling it in, hoping the fish wouldn't get loose from the hook before he got it on the boat.

"Here, kiddo, let me help," Bae's bigger hand closed about the pole, holding it steady while his son reeled.

"Here he comes...holy crap Dad he's a biggun!"

"Yeah, he's a keeper all right!" Bae said, smiling as they brought the jumping bluefish into the boat. The fish flopped and gasped, and Bae quickly removed the hook and put it in a pail of water to stay fresh.

"Nice job, Killian," Henry praised, looking at the fish swimming in the pail. He hoped one would bite on his line soon.

"I'm goin in again!" the proud pirate declared and tossed his line back in the water

"Now dinna be greedy, imp! Leave some for the rest of us," Rumple teased, just as he felt his line get a nibble. He gently played the fish through the water. "Come to Papa, little sprat."

The fish arced free of the water, the sunlight glistening on its silvery blue scales.

Rumple let his line go slack, so the fish didn't snap it as it tried to swim away.

"Grandpa, it's gettin' away!" Henry cried, forgetting to check his own line as he watched Rumple's.

"Where's a hammer...I'm gonna whack it!" yelled Killian.

"No, he's goin' nowhere, lad. He only thinks he is," the former imp chuckled wickedly.

"Shh! Watch your grandpa, boys," Bae urged. "He can play a trout with the best of 'em."

"Still think he oughta whack it!"

"Patience, lad, he'll grow tired soon enough," Rumple said calmly and continued to play a game of cat and mouse until the fish became exhausted and he reeled it in after seven minutes. "See? He's a wee bit bigger than yours, Killian."

"Nice one, Papa!" Bae said as Rumple held the fish up. "Now lemme take a picture with my phone."

"Huh? No way...mine's the biggest!"

"Let's see," Henry said, and he grabbed Killian's fish and handed it to him.

Bae snapped pictures rapidly as Henry got a ruler and measured the fish.

"Grandpa's right, his fish is a half inch longer," Henry said.

"I wanted to get the big fish!" Killian pouted.

"Hey, don't look like that," Bae grinned. "You'll confuse the fish cause they'll think you're their cousin. Just go catch another one, son."

"Yeah at least you caught one," Henry reminded him.

"Okay..."

"That's a good sport, scamp." Rumple told him. "After all, what's important is getting a fish to eat." He rebaited his hook and cast again.

"Yeah I don't get why some people wanna put em on the walls. That's gross."

"Don't worry, tiger. I don't have one yet either-wait!" Bae ran back to his pole. "Oh yeah, I got a fighter on this line!"

"Some people like to brag, dearie." Rumple remarked. "Careful, son! Don't let him snap the line!"

"Go, Dad! Reel 'em in!" cheered Henry.

Bae was glad he'd weighted his line, since the fish he'd hooked was fighting like crazy.

"Be careful he don't pull ya overboard!" Killian teased.

The little boy ran over to the side and peered into the water. "I see 'em! Hot damn, he's a whopper!"

"C'mere, you!" Rumple said, and snagged the back of his grandson's pants. "Before you go over the side!"

"Get the net, get the net!"

Henry ran back and grabbed the big net that was on the side. "I got it!"

"An the hammer in case we gotta whack it!"

"Oh, just use Papa's cane!" Bae panted, as he reeled.

Rumple's eyes bugged out. "Baelfire, I ain't gettin' fish guts on my custom cane!"

"I'll get it!" Killian exclaimed and wriggled free of Rumple's grasp to grab the hammer.

He was dragging his pole along behind him, the line swinging back and catching on the seat of Rumple's pants.

"What the heck...Granpa...I'm stuck!"

Riiiiipppp!

He pulled . . .and there came a ripping sound, just as Rumple turned and cried, "Killian Gold, you're stuck-on ME!"

"What...uh oh...I tore a hole in your pants and...I see crack!"

Henry chucked. "Grandpa, don'cha know crack kills?"

"Ye bloody scamps!" Rumple groused, then he said, "Quit wriggling there, tadpole, before you tear a hole in me as well as my clothes. Stand still!" He reached back and undid the hook from the panel of fabric, at the same time as Bae reeled his fish in.

"Henry, quit staring at your grandpa's butt and get that net here!"

Henry scooped the wriggling fish into the net.

"WHOA! That's one big ass fish!" Killian crowed.

Rumple made a face at his torn pants. "Oh, my poor designer-hey! Do I need t'conjure up the Ivory?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Papa," Bae said, then he went and smacked the fish with the hammer, stunning it so they could put it in the pail. "I believe, boys, that I am the master!"

"In yer dreams!" Killian scoffed and cast his line back in the water, hoping he could find an even larger fish, one for the record books.

Henry bit his lip. "I don't understand why I'm not getting a bite," he complained.

"What ya using for bait?"

He was doing everything properly as far as he knew yet the fish seemed to avoid his line.

Maybe I should have just watched, he thought.

"Let me see that line," Rumple said, and he limped over and reeled in the line, only to see . . ."Some sneaky fish went and stole your bait, lad. That's why nothing was biting. Put some more on and cast again."

"What? They can eat it and swim off...drat!?"

He rebaited the line and cast it back into the water, eager to feel a fish biting on his line.

But he forgot that he still had a piece of raw chicken in his hands and as he went to put it back in the bait pail a seagull flying overhead spotted it.

It squawked in glee, its beady eyes alighting on the food.

The gull swooped down and snatched the poultry out of his hands.

Killian waved the net at it. "Get outta here, you bilge rat!"

"Mine...Mine...MINE!" Henry yelled and tugged on the chicken, trying to yank it out of the bird's beak.

The seagull held on tight and suddenly, as if that were some kind of signal, an entire flock of the white birds converged on Henry and the gull with the chicken all of them screeching a loud chorus of what sounded like, "Mine, mine, MINE!"

"Git!" Killian yelled and swung at them with the net. "Go eat someone else's fish ya vultures!"

"Papa, what the heck! Do something before we have a Hitchcock revival on our hands!" Bae cried.

"Bloody damned scavengers!" Rumple muttered. He went to the bait pail and pulled out three lumps of raw chicken. "Here, ye wretched buggers! Eat this, not that!"

Then he threw the chicken out across the water hard, using a bit of magic to do so.

"And you can eat crap while you're at it!" Killian added.

Rumple slumped in his seat as exhaustion overtook him. Bae watched him, his eyes wide. "Papa, you could do something like that without breaking a sweat before. Are you okay?"

The flock of seagulls, spotting more food, took off and began fighting over the chicken floating on the water, screeching raucously.

"Just a wee bit tired," he replied. "It's because of my wards over Belle an' my wee bairn. They take up most of my magic, as do the other wards I have over the town and my family. But I'll be fine with some food. An' afterward I'll sew up these pants. Don't wanna give the ladies of the town something else to gawk at. Might cause them to keel over."

"Yeah and Grammy might go on the warpath an' take a book to ya," Killian snickered. "An' them!"

"Or they'll sing that Baby Got Back song," Henry joked. "Oooo...Dad! I got one!"

"Good one, Henry!"

Killian fetched Rumple a water from the cooler.

"Thanks, scamp," Rumple said, and drank it down. Then he recalled the sunscreen and reapplied it while Henry reeled his fish in.

His fish was even larger than his father's. "Looks like the little ones are too smart to go near our lines so they let the big boys take the heat!"

"Yeah we are gonna have us a nice fish fry tonight," Bae said proudly. He took a picture of Henry with his fish.

"Mmm! Dad, I'm hungry! Can we eat lunch now?" Killian begged.

"I'm all for that!" Henry crowed.

"Half past noon, son. Let's see what Belle and Emma made for us," Rumple said, his stomach growling.

Bae dragged the cooler out and opened it.

"Okay, let's see here . . .we have Cokes and iced tea to drink," he handed Cokes to his sons and an iced tea to Rumple.

"What did they make us to eat? Meatball subs?" Killian asked hopefully. He loved meatballs on subs as much as he loved them in spaghetti.

"Yup, and we're lucky we got a microwave on board, buddy," Bae said, removing two meatballs subs from the cooler and then his eyes lit up. "Oh man! Papa, are these what I think they are?" He pulled out two hand held crunchy pastries.

Rumple grinned. "They are, dearie! Those are Cornish pasties. Belle remembered!"

"What's that?" asked Henry.

"They're what Papa would make sometimes if we could get fresh beef. They're ground beef with onions and gravy and spices, potatoes, carrots and peas." Bae replied. "I loved them when I was a kid."

"They're from a recipe that Lizabeth, my foster mom, gave me," Rumple said. His mouth was watering. "Let's heat them up, Bae."

While Bae carried the subs and pasties back to galley to the microwave, Henry looked in the cooler to see what else was there. "Ooh, I see chips and apples with peanut butter!"

Killian took his meatball sub and Coke and returned to his seat. "Henry, can you give me some apples and chips please?"

"Sure!" he brought a bag of Lays and some apple slices with a small container of Jiff to his brother.

"And for dessert . . .there's homemade apple cider doughnuts and hot fudge and caramel dipping sauce!" Bae cried.

"M'gonna get fat...and don't care!" Killian giggled.

"Nah, lad! You don't need to worry about that yet," Rumple laughed. "You'll burn it off in no time the way you jump around like a water bug!"

The Gold women had given their boys a lunch to rival them all, with all of the foods they enjoyed.

"Well I'm at home in the water."

Bae bit into his pasty. "Oh, God! This is soo good. Papa, they taste just like I remember."

"Mmm hmmm," Rumple was eating his own with relish. "And I wonder if you remember a certain time when you tried to sneak some after they were cooling on the rack one day when you came home from school and you burned your fingers?"

"Reminds me of the time we tried to sneak some of Mom's meatballs, huh Killian?"

Killian nodded. "She told us to wait an' eat 'em later but we thought we could just eat 'em then, an' we burned our fingers too."

"And our tongues."

"Yeah I know the feeling!" Bae laughed. "Only difference with me was I had promised Papa I'd wait for supper and eat the bread and cheese he had there as a snack instead. So when I burnt my hands picking one up . . .I dropped it on the floor . . .and then I ate it and put on gloves so he wouldn't find out. Boy, was I dumb! It was almost summer and there I was with gloves on! He took one look at me and said, "What's wrong with your hands, Bae?"

"And you said nothing until I asked you to take those gloves off."

"Did you take 'em off?"

"Yeah, I did . . .after a bunch of excuses that got me nowhere."

"And when I saw his burnt fingers of course I knew what he'd done. And I Looked at him and said, "Bae, was it worth breaking your promise?"

"And I said, "Papa, those pasties are worth goin' to prison for!"

"What did you do?" asked Henry curiously.

"Well, I patched up his hands . . .then I sent him to bed without supper for breaking his promise."

"But since I already ate one, it wasn't much of a punishment," Bae smirked. "And . . .you never knew I got up in the middle of the night and ate one sitting on the counter!"

"Really, dearie?" Rumple snorted. "You think I can't count? I saw there was one missing and since I didn't eat it, you were the only one who did!"

"But . . . when we ate them for breakfast, you never said anything!" Bae protested.

"But I knew just the same. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool this spinner, Baelfire!" Gold reproved. Then he finished his pasty and began to eat a doughnut, dipping it into the small container of chocolate sauce that had been heated up. He licked his fingers afterwards saying, "Delicious!"

"I love these doughnuts! I could eat the plate!" Killian cried, stuffing one dripping with caramel sauce into his mouth.

"You did one time-when Mom brought them home," Henry reminded him. "Remember? Then you went and hid in the closet 'cause you had a tummy ache."

"An' I puked all over Dad's good boots," Killian recalled.

He had been crying both from embarrassment and fear that when Bae found out he'd end up with a sore butt.

"Yeah and you thought you were dead meat," Henry said.

"Uh huh, cause my Pa woulda killed me for doin' that," Killian replied. "But Dad went and gave me a bath and put me to bed an' made me take some yucky pink crap an' all he said was, "Next time don't stuff yourself like a pig, Killian."

"And I washed my boots," Bae laughed.

"How come you weren't mad, Dad?" asked Killian curiously.

"Because after what I did as a kid, I was expecting stuff like this," Bae replied. "And you'd learned your lesson the hard way."

"Sometimes experience is the best teacher," Rumple said, and ate another doughnut.

"An' you're a better dad than my old one," Killian declared softly, and went and snuggled in Bae's lap.

"The best," Henry said and went and hugged him on the right side.

"Thanks, guys," Bae said, smiling. "But I learned from the best." And he put his other arm around Rumple.

"Group hug!" Killian crowed and flung his arms around Rumple and Bae.

The old sorcerer hugged all three of his lads and thought how there was no feeling like this-the love of one's family. It was something he had sworn he would never feel again after taking on the Dark One curse and losing Bae. But fate had a way of surprising you.

After a few moments, Killian wriggled free and said, "Okay enough with the mushy stuff! Let's get back to fishin' so's I can whip your butt, Henry!" He pranced over to where his pole was locked into place and cast again.

He set his can of Coke on the floor of the boat and said, "Just watch me!"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. I'm watchin' all right. Watchin' me go home with the biggest fish!"

"Nuh uh!" the child shook his head. "I'm gonna catch the biggest fish you ever saw! I'm gonna catch JAWS!" he bragged.

Henry busted out laughing.

"Boys, be nice!" Bae sighed and stood up. "We're here to have fun, this isn't a competition." He went to check his own line.

"Yeah it is!" snapped Killian, scowling. "It's a competition 'tween me n' Henry!"

"Scamp, pride goes before a fall," Rumple warned and went to see about his own line.

Finding nothing on it, he cast it back, then went into the cabin to remove his torn pants and sew up the hole in them with the small sewing kit he always carried.

His words proved to be quite prophetic. While Killian waited impatiently for another catch, a wasp flew into the deck and around the opened can of Coke sitting by his feet.

The toddler bent down to retrieve it with one hand while struggling to keep a firm grip on the pole with the other. As he picked the can up, the wasp flew at his face.

"Git stupid bee!" he yelled and swatted at it.

"Killian, don't!" Henry warned.

"Leeme alone go bug some flowers!"

"It wants your soda," Henry advised. "Just leave it alone."

"He's not getting it...GO AWAY!" Killian swung at it again. The wasp buzzed at him angrily and flew off.

"And stay away!"

The wasp however was not finished and determined to teach the human a lesson he wouldn't forget.

"Hey I got another one!" Bae whooped, and began to reel in his latest catch unaware of what was transpiring.

Rumple tied off the last stitch and was about to put his pants back on, saying, "Not bad, if I do say so myself."

Just then the wasp flew behind the toddler and up under his shorts, stinging him on his backside.

"Yeeeeeoooowwwww!"

Bae dropped his fish onto the deck and spun around. "What the hell happened?"

"Something bit meeeeee!" Killian wailed loudly

"Bae? What's goin' on out there?" Rumple demanded, yanking his pants on and tripping over one leg in his haste. "Somebody get a hook in them?"

"Granpaaaa something bit my butt an' it really hurts!"

"Dad, I think it was a wasp!" Henry cried.

Suddenly another wasp flew by, drawn by the sweet scent of the Coke on the deck.

"Go away!" Killian cried, trying to swing at it.

"Stop!" Bae yelled, just as Rumple came out of the cabin.

"Why they keep bugging me?!"

"You got soda on you," Henry cried, pointing to a stain on his brother's shirt.

"Awww crap!" he moaned. "One of 'em stung my butt, the jerks!"

"C'mere, dearie and let me see," Rumple called, limping over to him.

"It hurts!"

"Aye, lad, I know," Rumple said softly. "But that stinger's still in you an' I need to take it out."

"How you gonna do that?"

"I have to look first, see where it is," Rumple began.

"We used to use mud back home," Bae said. "Far as I can remember."

"How's mud gonna help my butt?" Killian demanded angrily.

"Draws out the stinger and the venom," Rumple answered matter of factly. "Bae, take off his shorts and underwear. I need to see what I'm dealing with."

"Owwwww...Granpaaaa it hurts worse and now my butt's gettin really BIG!"

The little boy began bawling. "Shit, Papa! I think he might be allergic," Bae swore, and gently began to undo his son's shorts. "It's okay, son. It's gonna be okay."

"I don't wanna have a big butt an everybody laugh at meeeeee!"

"Hey, just relax. Nobody's gonna laugh at you," Bae soothed and then pulled his son's shorts off and his underwear. He took his son on his lap, saying, "Aww hells! Papa, this looks really bad!"

Killian bawled louder.

Rumple frowned. The poor child's backside was swelled up to three times its size and it had a huge red bump on it from where the wasp stinger was. "Dammit! I need mud!" He looked at Henry. "Can you conjure some for me? I can't heal him with that stinger in him."

"I'll try Grandpa."

Bae rubbed his small son's back, murmuring, "Hey, buddy, Grandpa's gonna fix you, okay?"

He felt awful, his heart aching because his son was hurting and he could do nothing except comfort him.

Henry closed his eyes and concentrated, using his concern for his brother as his strength and the substance began to form in his hand.

Killian wailed as the burning pain increased, wriggling on Bae's lap.

"Hold him, Bae!" ordered Rumple. "Dearie, I know it hurts like blazes but try and keep still you'll spread the venom."

"Don't worry Killian we're gonna get that out." Henry placed the pile of mud he conjured in his grandfather's hand.

"Thanks," Rumple took the mud and smeared it liberally over the bump, murmuring, "Relax, lad. The mud should draw the stinger out and the venom in a few minutes."

"Is my butt still gonna be huge?"

"No, because I'm gonna heal that once the stinger is out," Rumple reassured him. "You feel a bit better now?"

"It doesn't hurt that bad anymore."

"That's good," Bae said, relieved. Now he knew how his papa had felt when he got hurt as a boy. "Papa, should I bring him to Doc McStuffins when we get home?"

"Yes, she might want to give you a bee sting kit when you do. This way if it happens again you can give him an epipen needle before he starts goin into shock. Because with each successive sting the reaction is worse."

"You mean I can break out in those dots and not breathe?" One of Killian's school friends was allergic to wasps and had such a reaction.

"Yes, that's very possible," Rumple told him. "Which is why we need Doc McStuffins to give you medicine so that doesn't happen. It's a little pen with a small needle on it, like what people with diabetes have to inject insulin. It has medicine to stop your allergy from doing that."

"Does it hurt?"

"From what I understand, no. It's like a pinprick." Rumple answered. "But the alternative, dearie, is a trip to the hospital with big needles that DO hurt."

"Noooo!"

"Hush the dramatics, scamp. You won't need to go to the hospital if you get one of those and keep it on you always." He looked at the boy's backside again. "Hmm. The bump's gone down somewhat. Another few minutes and I'll wipe it off and the stinger will be out."

The child's face felt hot. "Hurry, Grandpa!" he whined. He felt embarrassed with his butt on display like this even though the only ones seeing it were his family. His bottom itched too.

"Stop wriggling, imp," Bae ordered softly.

"I can't help it, it itches like crazy!"

"It's the venom," Rumple said. "Even though most of it's drawn, what was there has caused a reaction. Henry, get me a wet cloth."

Henry went and dipped a cloth into the water and handed it to him.

Rumple took it and gently washed off the crusted mud. Killian squirmed. "Okay, dearie. Almost done." He peered hard where the bump was. "The stinger is out."

"Can you heal him, Papa?"

"Yes," Rumple said. He still had strength to do that. He set a hand upon his grandson's backside and his healing magic spread over the boy in golden sparkles, healing the boy.

"There! 'Tis done!"

Bae helped Killian put his pants back on and the little boy went and hugged his grandpa hard. "You fixed me!"

Feeling slightly woozy, Rumple went and sat down in one of the deck chairs, happy it was bolted to the floor. "You were a brave lad," he said, happy the ordeal was over.

Then he yawned. "Sorry. I just need to sleep a little."

"S'okay. I love you, Grandpa," the little boy said, and kissed his cheek as Rumple dozed off.

Henry snapped another picture on his phone.

Then his brother jumped off Rumple's lap and hugged Henry and Bae too.

To the toddler's delight, something was tugging frantically on his line when he went to check it. "Dad...DAAADDD...I got another bite...and it's a BIGGG ONE!"

He tried reeling it in himself but it was far too heavy. "Henry...can ya gimme a hand?"

"Yeah, hang on, cause I think I got another one too!" his brother called, reeling frantically.

"Cool! Ya got one Dad?"

A few seconds later, he had a slightly smaller fish flopping on his line. "Yes!" He tossed it in the pail.

"I think so, buddy!" Bae called, and then he reeled in a large silvery one. "Oh yeah! Papa needs a new pair of shoes!"

"Woo hoo we Golds rock the ocean baby!" Killian hooted

Henry went over to help his brother, just as they heard a loud honking sound. It was a huge fog horn.

"What in HELL is that?" growled Rumple, awakened untimely from his brief nap.

A larger fishing boat was sailing in their direction, the captain unable to turn it about due to a malfunction with its navigational system.

Henry's eyes were bugging out. "HEY! Dad, they're gonna hit us!"

"Abandon ship!" Killian screamed in horror.

"Holy mother of God!" Bae swore and yanked up the anchor and tried to steer their little craft out of the way. He was sweating bullets.

The captain of the larger vessel breathed a sigh of relief that they'd heard the horn in time and was turning their own boat to avoid a collision that would without a doubt, seriously injure or kill the occupants of the smaller boat.

His sudden maneuvering threw Rumple right out of his seat. "Baelfire, dammit! Ye wanna make me t' feed the fishes, boy?"

"Granpa they're gonna ram us!" Killian yelled.

Rumple groped for his cane just as a huge wave thundered over the bow and stern, swamping the smaller boat. Luckily, the sorcerer managed to grab onto the chair leg to avoid being washed away.

Killian however had not been able to latch onto anything and was tossed overboard along with most of their catch. "Dad! Granpa...HELLLPPPP!"

He thrashed about in the water violently, his vest keeping him afloat but he feared he would be run over by one of the other boats as he'd seen happen to a friend of his father's only it was done intentionally.

Don't let them run me over, please...he pleaded silently.

Henry had banged his head against the bulkhead and had a cut over his eye that was bleeding fiercely. "Dad!" He screamed while trying to staunch the blood dripping into his eye. "Killian got washed away!"

"Dad...get me outta here 'fore the sharks eat meeeee!"

"Hang on, buddy!" Bae called, his heart in his throat. "Sonuvabitch!" He shook his fist at the departing trawler then he killed the engines and turned and dashed back to the stern. After seeing his son bobbing like flotsam in his yellow vest, Bae kicked his shoes off, attached a line to his vest and jumped into the water.

"Be careful Dad! Hang on Killian, Dad's comin!" Henry called out.

"Okay...okay..." Killian sobbed. He knew he was supposed to be a big boy and not cry but he hadn't been this terrified in the water for ages.

Bae swam through the water with powerful strokes, despite the vest, his own adrenaline and terror making him able to power through the wave wash as if he were a merman of the depths. "It's okay, son! I'm right here!" he panted as he drew alongside the frightened toddler. "I got ya!"

"Wanna go home..."

Bae put his arm around him. "I know. We will, don't worry. Now hold tight to my vest and we're gonna go back to the ship," he said, starting to swim back. "Henry, pull us in!" he called to his elder son, knowing that with Killian's added weight he would need assistance.

"I've got you Dad, hang on!" Henry yelled back.

He began to haul back on the line attached to his father, while Rumple came and pressed a handkerchief to his eyebrow to try and halt the bleeding. "I wish I could help you, lad, but I only have one arm."

"S'okay Granpa...I got it."

Bae used his other arm to swim and kicked hard through the water as Henry pulled, holding onto Killian for dear life. "You okay, buddy?" he asked. "You hurt?"

"No...was just a little scared...m'sorry I cried like a baby..."

"You've got nothin' to be sorry for, Killian. You coulda been drowned." Bae soothed. "Anybody woulda been scared outta their minds. You scared the bloody blue blazes outta me, kid." His own eyes were wet with tears as well as sea water.

"I was real scared that other boat was gonna run me over like Papa ran over Peg Leg Pete for takin more than his fair share of the booty they got from a merchant vessel."

"I was afraid of that too," Bae panted. "And don't . . .think about what . . .that scumsucker that sired you did . . .okay?" He shivered thinking of all the terrible things the little boy had seen even as young as he was.

"Almost there, buddy . . ." they were a few feet from the ship now.

Killian held on for dear life to his father, his hero. This was the father he should've had years ago, one who would keep the boy on the straight path in life and not afraid to go through the fires of hell itself to keep him safe.

Bae swam the last few feet, thanking God he had been able to rescue his precious son from the fickle greedy sea and then he was gripping the small ladder and hoisting Killian onto it. "We made it! Henry, get hold of him!"

"C'mere little brother."

Henry took the toddler from his father's arms and hugged him tightly. "Holy heck we were all scared to death..."

"Yeah but you saved me an Dad from the water an the sharks that woulda made us dinner Henry."

Bae climbed up the ladder an instant later, weary but triumphant. "You all did a great job. Is everyone all right?"

"I'm a little bruised but okay," Rumple reported. "But Henry cut open his eyebrow and I need the first aid kit in the cabin, Bae. And you an' Killan need to get outta those wet clothes before you catch pneumonia."

The wind was now blowing and both Bae and Killian were shivering as the formerly sunny day suddenly turned chilly and the sun slipped behind a cloud bank.

"I know, Papa." Bae said. "We could all use a change of clothes."

And you might wanna put some a that aloe stuff on Dad cause ya look like a lobster." Killian pointed out.

Bae sighed. "Yeah, I think I got too much sun. But I'll tan later. C'mon, buddy. Let's get changed. Good thing your mom made us bring extra clothes."

"Whoa! Killian's right Dad. You are pretty red! Didn't you put sunblock on?"

"Umm . . .I forgot . . ."

He braced himself for the lecture he was certain to get from his father.

Rumple shook his head. "Bae, sometimes I swear ye dinna have the brains God gave a goose! And Belle was worried about me forgetting!"

Then he shook his head, "Ah well, it coulda been worse. At least you two are all in one piece, thank God."

"And the boat still works and we got lots of fish . . ." Henry said, trying to be positive.

"Just another mishap for us...right?" KIllian giggled

"Yeah . . .another story to tell your mom when we get home," Bae smirked. "Okay, let's get changed, Killian."

"Yeah cause I don't wanna get sick!"

As they made their way over to the cabin, Bae felt a little woozy and sick, and the deck seemed to sway more than usual. Must have swallowed some seawater.

They unclipped their vests and left them outside the cabin before they entered.

As they dressed in dry clothing, putting their wet things in plastic bags, Bae found his dizzieness and nausea starting to increase. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the way the ship seemed to rock back and forth like a cradle. "Killian, bring the first aid kit out to your grandpa while I put on some aloe," he ordered, figuring he needed a minute or so to lie down and let his stomach settle.

"Okay." Killian raced out to the deck with the kit in his hands and handed it to Rumple. "I think Dad's gettin seasick Granpa."

"Don't borrow trouble, lad. Your papa's never been seasick," Rumple said. He turned to his other grandson. "Lean your head back, Henry. I need to see how deep that cut is."

"I don't think it's too bad."

Rumple examined it. "No, it won't need stitches, just a butterfly bandage. Hold still now while I clean it." He soaked a cotton ball in antiseptic wash and gently swabbed the cut.

His wound stung but only for a few seconds much to his relief. His grandfather always made certain he was in as little pain as possible as he tended to him.

"Good lad, now for some Neosporin and then the bandage," Rumple said softly, smoothing on the pain relieving ointment next and then following with two butterfly bandaids that would hold the cut together.

"I owe you a chocolate bar for not biting me," he joked when he had finished.

"Whadda you think I am, a shark?" Henry teased.

"Many a doctor has gotten bitten and kicked by children," Rumple smiled. "Go put this back, Killian, and check on your papa."

"Okay!"

In the cabin, Bae felt like he was on a merry-go-round and couldn't get off. Everytime the boat moved he felt his head spin and then his stomach lurch. Hell, this can't be happening to me! he groaned.

"Dad...you're lookin green! You are gettin seassick!"

"I'm not . . ." his father groaned. "Oh damn . . .!" He jumped up an instant later to bolt out of the cabin and vomit over the side. But looking at the ocean made him even more ill.

"How did he get seasick now?' Henry inquired.

"It can happen anytime, Henry." Rumple said. "Bae, maybe you ought to sit down, dearie. Hopefully it'll pass."

"Dammit, Papa! I can't get sick!" his son moaned. 'Who the hell's gonna drive the boat?"

But no sooner had he staggered away from the rail to sit down, his stomach heaved again.

"I can do it! I can drive the boat!" Killian piped up.

He was sick as a dog, he thought wretchedly. He felt a cool cloth on the back of his neck, and his father's hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, son. I'll get us home. You just rest . . .and drink plenty of water." Luckily the cooler with water bottles had not been washed away.

"Ya need help drivin Grandpa?" Killian asked him.

"I might," Rumple said, wishing like hell he could heal his son but he was drained from the little spellcasting he'd done already. He patted Bae comfortingly on the back. "If I had some chamomile or ginger tea I'd give you some. Right now, though, I think we'd better turn on the pumps and get the extra water out."

"The button for the bilge pumps is on the right hand side of the instrument panel, the yellow one," Bae said, wishing right then he was off the boat. He managed to sit down in one of the chairs and tried to stare at the horizon. I cannot believe this! he thought irritably. My crippled father and my toddler son are gonna drive us home! This is the worst trip I've ever been on!

Killian handed him a bottle of water. "Here, Dad. Drink some."

"So hoist up the John B's sail

See how the main sail sets

Call for the Captain ashore

Let me go home, let me go home

I want to go home, yeah yeah

Well I feel so broke up

I want to go home..." Bae sang after he took a sip

Rumple started laughing. "Don't quit your day job, son," then he ruffed his son's hair affectionately. "C'mon, imp. Let's go home before something else happens an' we're marooned or whatever the hell you sailors say."

"Yeah it's marooned an you get a pistol with one shot...least that's how my pa did it."

"Well, we'll not be needing that," Rumple chuckled. He made his way carefully to the pilot box, his cane tapping against the deck. He found the yellow button and pushed it, activating the bilge pumps.

"That stupid boat nearly sank us. Cap'n was prolly drunk at the wheel," Killian said angrily. "I may have been a lush but not while I was sailin. That was just askin to get boarded or to walk the plank."

"Aye, well, we coulda all ended up in the drink and the boat capsized, so we were lucky no one was hurt worse," Rumple said philosophically. He examined the controls. Everything looked like Greek to him. The only thing he understood was the key, it was like a car and started the engines.

"Is there some kind of manual around here?" he muttered.

"Ummm...this is kinda different from sailin the Roger...but we gotta get the engine started so turn that key there."

"That much I know, lad!" Rumple said and did so.

"Then we gotta turn her around so she can start for home...but not too fast or we're gonna tip over...an I can't reach the whel that good."

"I hope this is like steering a car," Rumple muttered.

"Ummm...I dunno...I didn't drive." Except for a Power Wheels. "But if it's like drivin the Justice Mobiles then you'll do okay."

Rumple muttered a prayer and slowly turned the boat to the left.

As the boat swung around, Henry said, "So far so good, Dad. We haven't crashed yet."

"Great Henry," Bae groaned, and prayed he wasn't going to vomit.

"We got it covered," Killian assured him and continued giving his grandfather the same basic sailing instructions he'd given Bae years ago.

Except he forgot that Rumple didn't understand all the nautical terms.

"Now ya know how I feel when you talk magic stuff!"

"At least we don't invent names for stuff that already has names!" Rumple grumbled. "It's like a whole different language!"

"So it's my language and ya need ta learn if if you want your sea legs...landlubber!"

Rumple glared at him. "Ye just get us home in one piece, ye freebooter!" He glanced at the GPS. "How far are we now? Damned technology! Imp! I need to make sure we're on course. Or do ye wanna navigate this bucket o' bolts?"

"Ha ha you're doing the are we there yet gag!" Killian taunted. The toddler looked at the screen. "There's where we need to be and here's where we are...we got at least another half hour before we're home."

"It's a good thing this is the ocean an' not the highway. Less idiots on the road. Though if I see that jackass who almost drowned us, I'll put the keel o' this boat up his arse!" his grandfather growled angrily.

"We can make em walk the plank."

"I was thinkin' more of suing his arse," the lawyer replied.

"Will it get him off the water?"

"Aye if I can make it stick. But . . I dinna get his make an model so . . .we're screwed, dearie."

"Ahh crap...well maybe when we come back in the harbor we can go look. Operation: Jaws."

"I wouldn't mind that a bit. People shouldn't drive if they can't be careful. Idiots cause accidents and kill people!"

"Uh-huh but we're doing good. Almost home."

Rumple wiped droplets of sweat off his forehead. "You want to steer her in with me?" he invited, knowing how much the boy had missed being able to do so.

"Sure!"

Henry snapped several pictures on his phone of his brother and grandfather sailing the vessel safely into the harbor and recorded a few videos so his mother and grandmother could see them.

"The Nevengers save the day!" Killian crowed.

Bae couldn't wait to get his feet back on land and in a comfortable bed where he could sleep off his nausea.

He texted Emma to come and pick them up since he didn't feel much like driving home in his condition. But he was very grateful they had all survived . . .despite the fact that they only had half their catch to show for it. "Thanks, Papa and Killian. You think maybe we ought to skip this next year?"

"We can fish on the shore," KIllian suggested.

"That might be better," agreed Rumple. "But this was a fun trip . . .until that ship happened."

"And we're gonna catch it."

"Aye we will, sooner or later," his grandfather agreed.

"Now let's bring the fish over to the shack and clean them before we go home," Rumple suggested.

They entered part of the cannery, and together Rumple and his grandsons cleaned what wa sleft of their catch and filleted them and wrapped them in sheets of butcher paper and put them in plastic bags to take home. Most of the fish he gave to his grandsons, since he knew that he and Belle wouldn't need half that much.

"Always hated this part," Killian muttered.

"Quit grousing, lad. Now you have several fine meals to eat for a few days. You can even freeze it. Bae and I would have lived like kings on this much," Rumple said, neatly cutting the fish into pieces.

"Yeah and Mom puts some of the fish in my mac n cheese too."

"I like fish sandwiches," Henry said. "Dad can make better ones than McDonald's."

Rumple grinned. "And who d'ye think taught him that?"

"Bragging much, Papa?" Bae teased.

"And why not? You certainly didn't learn your cooking skills from your mama! She burned everything."

"When she did cook. Most of the time she got drunk."

Rumple grimaced. "Don't remind me. Remember the drunken vegetable soup? When she poured a bottle o' whiskey into it instead of water? And then she fed it to you and I came home and my three-year-old was drunker than a gambler flush from the tables."

"Yup and I was dancing on the table just like Killian here did.""

"And I nearly made stew out of your mama for THAT little incident . . .once I sobered her up that is!" Rumple snorted. "That was the last time she cooked anything for us."

"Didn't need her anyway," Bae muttered.

"No, we managed okay on our own, didn't we?" Rumple said, recalling fond memories of the days before he was cursed, when it was just the two of them together. They had been poor but they had the most important thing-each other.

"Yeah, we did...even on Father's Day."

Rumple handed them each a bag of fish. "Well, all's well that ends well, huh?"

"Yeah...now I want to go home and try to calm my stomach."

"Drink ginger tea, dearie. It'll settle fast enough then," his father advised. "Emma's picking you up, right? Otherwise I'll take you."

"She said she would."

"Good. Then let's get our gear together and go wait for her."

They gathered all the fishing tackle and walked outside.

Rumple's phone rang a short time later.

"Hello? Belle, I'm going to be home shortly-" he began.

"OOohhhh...Rumple...I think...I think...I'm in labor..."

Rumple nearly dropped the phone on the ground. "WHAT? Oh . . .my . . .GOD! Just . . .umm . . .stay right there, dearie, I'm coming!"

"Please hurry...I can't have our baby by myself..." she sobbed.

"You won't, I promise." He hung up the phone. "Bae, I gotta move my ass, your mama's in labor!" He yanked open the door to his Cadillac and hopped inside, throwing his cane into the passenger seat so hard he almost broke his window. The bag of fish followed. "Tell Emma what's going on!"

"We will!"

Rumple pulled away so fast Bae was surprised there weren't skid marks on the pavement.

He used his Bluetooth to call Belle and tell her he was on his way. "Hold on, dearie! The cavalry's coming!"

"Ohhhh...Rumple this is awful...I feel like someone has thrown me on the rack and is stretching me ouuuutttt!"

"Breathe, sweetheart!" he yelled, swerving around another car plodding along. "C'mon, you asshole! Damn Sunday drivers! I gotta make it to my house on time!"

"Can't you...oooo just zap em!" Belle cried out.

"No . . .I've used up my magic quota for the day . . .you bastard! This dumbfuck just cut me off!" Rumple swore. "Get off the road, ye cousin to a baboon's arse!" He laid on the horn.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU USED YOUR QUOTA? DON'T YOU HAVE SOME STASHED? Our child will be born before you get here!"

"Relax honey, I'm turnin' down the street!" he called, and gave Keith Nottingham the finger as he passed him by, for he was the one who had cut him off.

"I'm...ohhh on my way out..."

Rumple pulled up into the driveway just in time to open the car door for her.

"Hey Cow! You gonna give birth to a forked tailed hooved mutant too!" Sapphira yelled from the porch.

"Shut your mouth, ye wretched brat! B'fore I cut a switch an' tan yer ass blue!" Rumple bellowed, helping his wife into the car.

"You...want to see a mutant...look in the mirror!" Belle panted.

"She can't, dearie! When the mirror sees her coming-it breaks!" Rumple giggled, then he put the car in reverse and pulled away.

It was a five minute drive to Storybrooke General from Threadneedle Way. It felt more like a five hour drive.

"Rumple...oh God...I don't wanna give birth in the car..."

"You won't . . ." he swore and slammed on the breaks as another idiot came into his lane without a turn signal. "Ahh . . .the hell with it . . .if Doc Brown could do it, so can I!" he cried.

"Please...do...something!"

He touched his star pendant and used some of his elemental magic to make the Caddy fly into the air.

"An' neither does Tom Cruise!" he snorted and the Caddy blasted off like a rocket, landing in the parking lot of the ER secnds later. "Eat your heart out, Maverick!"

"Show...off...later!"

"Okay, dearie. But . . .it was fun!" he giggled. He summoned a wheelchair with a snap of his fingers.

Belle slid into the chair clutching her belly. "Please...can't you give mama a break and be born soon."

"Maybe I can link with you and take some of the pain away," Rumple suggested, taking her hand. His pendant glowed and he nearly went to his knees. "Holy shi-i-t!"

"You think this was gonna be a picnic?"

"N-No, but . . ." he was sweating bullets and panting heavily. "Whoever claimed you were the weaker sex, dearie, was fucking CRAZY!"

"Try HAVING the baby!"

"Sorry, sweetheart, this one damn time I am GLAD I was born a man!" her husband gasped. He concentrated and sent a wave of love and a spell that blocked some, though not all, of the crushing pain down the link. "How's that? Better? I think it's a little better!"

"Ahhhh...so much better," Belle murmured.

He pushed the wheelchair inside, saying loudly, "My wife's in labor and I need a doctor, STAT!"

Though he wasn't a doctor, the staff jumped into action at the command.

Nurses came and wheeled Belle into a room and took her vitals and hooked her up to a fetal monitor. The obstetrician was paged.

"Mr. Gold, maybe you ought to quit pacing like a lion and sit down?" suggested a nurse.

"Rumple...I need you...here..."

"My wife's having a baby so I'll pace if I want to!"

He skewered the nurse with a glare before hurrying over to the bed. "I'm here, dearie."

He tried to recall all the breathing techniques he'd read about so assiduously, but they kept getting jumbled together in his head.

She reached for his hand and nearly crushed his fingers when she felt the next painful contraction.

"Belle . . .you want me t' be able t' hold our baby right?" he gritted out.

"It hurts so much..." she moaned.

His eyes crinkled with sympathy. "I know . . .I'm so sorry I can't take all the pain away . . ." He kissed her hand. "We don't have to have anymore after this one-we can adopt . . ."

"No...if you want to have another baby...we can...as many as you want..."

"Are you INSANE?" he half-yelled. "If you think I'm-WE'RE gonna go through this again-?"

"We? WE? I'm having ALL the pain!"

"You think I don't feel pain because you are? I'm linked t' ye, Belle!" he objected. "Oh, where the hell is that doctor? I swear I'm gonna sue the damned hospital, the medical board . . ." he ranted, rubbing a hand over his wife's back.

"He thinks he's dying over here and I'm the one being stretched!" she panted.

"When we saw Mistshadow havin' kittens-I didn't think it was that bad!" her husband whimpered.

"And if you really want to link with me completely...YOU have the baby!"

Rumple almost passed out in horror.

"Oooh...Ohhhh...can't I push yet...please?" the young mother begged.

A young looking resident in a white coat entered the room. "Hi, I'm . . .Abby Hayes, umm . . .I'm so sorry but Dr. Banks is delayed in surgery . . .so he sent me here to . . check up on you Mrs. Gold. How are you doing?"

"Have you ever delivered a baby before?" Rumple demanded.

"Well . . .I've assisted . . ." the young doctor replied.

"OH GOD!" Belle moaned.

She moved over to examine Belle. "Don't worry, Mrs. Gold. I'm sure you're not quite ready to push yet . . .umm . . .scratch that . . .you most certainly are . . .now where are those blasted stirrups?"

"Stirrups...what the hell...I'm not riding a horse, I'm having a baby!"

"I know . . .but they're for you to brace your feet with when you push," the doctor explained, rummaging beneath the covers. "Ah. . .here we go . . .!" She helped Belle put her feet into them. Then she moved over to the sink to scrub and pull on gloves.

"I'm on display! Rumple...everyone can see my...ohhhh!"

Rumple muttered, "Oh they're definitely hearing from me! Your first baby and they send us Dr. Dipsy Doodle! Jesus H. Christ!" He yanked the curtain closed, almost ripping it down. "Damned cheap piece of trash!"

"Now. . . let's all relax . . .and breathe and . . ." Dr. Hayes began. "Oh, I see the head. Push, Mrs. Gold!"

"I AM pushing!" she cried but she could feel no movement.

"Hmm . . .wait . . .the baby seems to be a bit stuck . . ." the doctor muttered, trying to manipulate the infant.

"Stuck? Stuck? Rumple...please...don't let anything happen to our baby!" Belle had heard tales in their old world of babies dying from this.

"Let me see!" he hissed, letting go of his wife's hand. The fetal heart monitor began to beep wildly, signaling the baby was in distress. It sent chills down his spine. No, I will not lose this baby! No, please!

Belle burst into tears. "Nooooo...!"

She prayed to every god they knew and blamed herself, thinking it was her fault they would never get to hold their child in their arms.

He touched his pendant again. His hands glowed and he cried, "I, Master of Light and Dark, by the love I bear for thee, will thee to be born!"

"Rumple...it's moving...I can feel it...it's moving!"

A golden glow covered the lower half of his wife's stomach as the baby turned, the shoulder that had been wedged against Belle's pelvis now rotated back to its proper place.

"You did it! Now push, Mrs. Gold!" Dr. Hayes encouraged. "Push hard!"

She sat up and pushed hard with all the strength she could muster fighting back the exhaustion that threatened to overtake her.

"The head's out!" Dr. Hayes encouraged. "I think three more should do it. Take a breather."

"Is...it...safe...to..?"

"Yes, look the baby's not in distress anymore," the doctor said, cradling the head. The heart monitor had gone back to normal.

She lay back against the pillows, taking several deep breaths, the sound of her baby's steady heartbeat soothing her.

"You're doing good, Mrs. Gold," the physician encouraged. "Just rest for a few minutes." She glanced over at Rumple, who had his head lowered in concentration, his hands still glowing with the ethereal fire. "And I wish I had HIm assist me with all my procedures."

"I wouldn't want anyone else at my side...or to father my baby..." Belle murmured.

"Yeah I can see why," Abby said admiringly. "Okay, Mrs. Gold, let's bring this baby home. Ready? On three . . ."

She grunted and pushed again, harder this time and felt the baby move again. "Please...come home my angel!"

Then the baby slid out into the doctor's arms. "You got yourself a darlin' baby girl!"

"Let me see her!"

"Here you go, peanut!" Dr. Hayes crooned, as she suctioned the little nose and mouth. The baby opened her mouth and let out . . .a laugh.

At least that's what it sounded like to her enthralled parents.

"Well...she has the Rumple giggle, doesn't she darling?" Belle asked her husband through her tears.

"Aye, dearie, she sure does!" her proud father said, his own eyes glistening.

Dr. Hayes put the baby on Belle's tummy, saying, "Now there's one for the record books! First time I ever had a baby laugh instead of cry after gettin' born!"

"That's her father in her...isn't it my angel," Belle crooned.

The baby wriggled her hands and made the same sound again-a little giggle.

"Would you like to cut the cord, Mr. Gold?" the doctor asked, holding out the surgical scissors.

Rumple took the scissors and gently snipped the cord. "My bonny wee lass!" he murmured, his eyes glowing with joy.

She was indeed a beautiful child who inherited the best of both of her parents; her mother's azure eyes, her father's hair, her mother's heart shaped face and fair complexion and of course her father's signature giggle.

Rumple asked if he could clean her with the items the nurse brought while Dr. Hayes assisted Belle with delivering the afterbirth. So the first bath she had came directly from her papa's hands.

The baby seemed to enjoy having a bath, keeping her eyes on her papa at all times and he could even see a hint of his famous smirk on her lips.

Rumple dressed her in the little kimono, cap, and diaper the staff provided, letting them take her measurements before giving her back to him to cradle in his arms.

He felt once more as he had when he held Bae in his arms, awe and a joy so great he could hardly breathe. Only this baby was even smaller than his son had been. Small yet full of life.

His daughter suddenly began to cry, and he crooned, "Oh, my sassy imp, what's the matter? Are you hungry?" The baby was nuzzling his chest and wailing. "Little dearie, I think you need your mama. Your papa can do many things, but no' that, sweetheart!"

He handed the baby to Belle, who was now resting comfortably in a clean pink gown, with a pink blanket tucked around her.

"Papa is a bit traumatized from feeling labor pains my little miracle," Belle giggled.

"And from the fishing trip I was on," Rumple remarked. "Because you know there's always some mishaps whenever we do something!"

"Oh no, what did you do now?"

"Me? Why am I always the one doin' something?" he asked, putting on his innocent face.

"Maybe cause you're a man?" teased Abby. "So what are we gonna call this little miracle?"

"Miranda Larissa. Do you agree Rumple?"

He nodded. "I do, dearie. Miranda for my mama, and her name means a wondrous miracle-which she is considering what almost happened. And Larissa for yours-which means laughter-and was the first sound she made."

"Miranda Larissa Gold. That's a beautiful name," Dr. Hayes said. She smiled down at the baby. "And I believe that you are the best gift anybody could ever give their daddy, right sweetheat?"

She wrote it down on her clipboard.

This would be a Father's Day Rumple would never forget since it would also be the day he celebrated his daughter's birthday

He snapped a picture of little Miri nursing and then sent it to the family, with the words Welcome to the World Miranda Larissa Gold-the very best Father's Day gift ever!

He had a feeling that his wee miracle would someday grow up to do great things-just like the rest of her family-along with mischief and mishaps.


End file.
